The amount of rubbish being recycled in the city dropped last year, despite more household waste being collected.

The fall is, perhaps, especially surprising as it comes at a time when public awareness of the problems surrounding waste and plastic use is on the rise, thanks in part to BBC documentary The Blue Planet.

The quantity of waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting dropped by almost five per cent last year, while the amount of waste collected per household increased.

In 2016/17, an average of 574kg of rubbish was collected per household. In 2017/18, that figure rose to 590kg.

However, it appears the drop is not due to city residents falling out of love with their orange bags.

Biffa's Ball Mill and nearby homes

Leicester City Council said the decrease in the amount of rubbish being recycled, from 40 per cent in 2016/17 to 35 per cent in 2017/18, was down to problems with equipment at Biffa's Bursom ball mill, near Beaumont Leys, and Wanlip anaerobic digestion plants.

The ball mill processes wheelie bin waste to allow as much of it as possible to be recycled.

Anaerobic digestion is a sophisticated form of composting which involves breaking down organic matter, such as garden cuttings. The process creates a gas which generates green energy. It stops such matter being sent to landfill, where it would break down and create gases which are harmful to the environment.

Equipment at the sites was out of action for three months during 2018.